Adjustable flush tank valve for water closets



April 15, 1969 M. TAIEN 3,438,064

ADJUSTABLE FLUSH TANK VALVE FOR WATER CLOSETS Filed June 8, 1967 INVEA/ TOR MORRIS TAIEN United States Patent 3,438,064 ADJUSTABLE FLUSH TANK VALVE FOR WATER CLOSETS Morris Taien, 9455 SW. 36th St., Miami, Fla. 33165 Filed June 8, 1967, Ser. No. 644,642 Int. Cl. E03d l/34, 5/02, 5/01 U.S. Cl. 4-56 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to fiush valves for water closets and is more particularly directed to such a valve that is adjustable.

In the conventional water closets, the flush valves which are highly buoyant permit the complete discharge of the tankful of water before becoming seated to close off the outlet and permit the tank to fill up again ready for the next flushing operation. Consequently each time the operating lever is actuated to flush a toilet, the same tankful of Water is discharged, thereby resulting in a waste of water. Inasmuch as water has become a valuable and a relatively costly product, the need to conserve water and use only the minimum required to accomplish the particular function desired is paramount. The present invention contemplates the use of a flush valve that can be adjusted as to weight which valve will become seated and stop the further discharge of water from a tank to a toilet bowl when a predetermined amount of water has been discharged to flush a toilet properly and completely.

Therefore a principal object of the present invention is to provide a water closet with a hollow fiush valve whose weight may be adjusted by the amount of water placed therein whereby the flush valve will become seated upon the discharge of a certain amount of the water from the tank.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a water closet with a flush valve whose weight is slightly less equal to or slightly heavier than the water displaced by it whereby the current created by the water being discharged will draw the flush valve down to its seated position when a predetermined amount of water still remains in the tank to prevent any further discharge of water from the tank.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a flush valve having a chamber and being truncated cone shaped which can be partially filled with water to vary its weight by unscrewing a closure cap that is provided with openings whereby water is permitted to flow into the chamber while the valve is being held submerged in the Water in the tank.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawing but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a cross sectional view of a conventional "ice water closet tank showing my adjustable flush valve in its open position after the operating handle had been actuated and released.

FIGURE 2 is a detailed cross sectional view of my flush valve.

FIGURE 3 is a similar view showing the closure cap unthreaded to expose the openings therein whereby with the flush valve submerged in water, water would flow into the flush valve to vary its weight.

Referring to the drawing wherein like numerals are used to designate similar parts throughout the several views, the numeral 10 refers to a watercloset that is conventional in all respects except as to the structure and function of the flush valve 11. However, in order to better understand the invention a description of the water closet 10 is given herein. The water closet 10 consists of a tank 12 having a cover 13 with a water inlet pipe 14 and outlet 15 secured to a bottom wall 16 of the tank 12. The outlet pipe 14 is provided with a seat portion 16 on which the flush valve 11 becomes seated to cut-off the discharge of water from the tank 12 while the water inlet 14 is provided with a standpipe 17. The upper end of the standpipe 17 is connected to a water inlet pipe 18 at the top portion by a header 19. Mounted within the header 19 is a valve 20 for the control of flow from the standpipe 17 through the header 19 and through the inlet pipe 18 to be discharged into the bottom portion of the tank 12.

The water control valve 20 extends upwardly to a lever 21 where it is pivotally connected by a pivot pin 22 at the mid-portion of the lever 21 whose one end is pivoted as 23 to an arm 24 extending upwardly of the header 19. The other end of the lever 21 is pivoted as at 25 to the lower end of a link 26 whose upper end is pivoted by a pivot pin 27 to one end of a float lever 28. The latter is provided with an extension rod 29 that is secured at its free end to a ball float 30.

It is readily noted that the conventional structure of the valve and float system described hereinabove will operate to open the valve 20 and permit water to enter the tank 12 as shown by FIGURE 1. When the float 30 has arrived at its highest position in the tank 12, that is after the flush valve 11 has become seated on the valve seat 116 and water permitted to collect in the tank 12 when the float lever 28 and extension lever 29 have assumed an approximately horizontal position.

Supported by the outlet pipe 15 and extending upwardly Within the tank 12 is an overflow pipe 31 on which a bracket 32 is mounted. The bracket 32 is provided with a guide 33 through which a valve stem 34 extends whose upper end terminates in an enlarged portion 35.

The valve 11 is lifted from its valve seat 16 by an L-shaped link 36 whose foot portion 37 engages the enlarged portion 35 of the valve stem 34. The link 36 is connected to one end of an operating lever 38 whose other end extends to the front wall (not shown) of the tank 12 where it is connected to the stub shaft 39 of an operating handle (not shown).

The flush valve 11 which constitutes the essence of this invention is a hollow truncated conical member with a slanting side wall 40 that seats in the valve seat 16. There are provided a flat bottom wall 41 and a conical top wall 42 forming a chamber 43. In the apex of the top wall 42 is a threaded portion 44 for receiving the threaded end of the valve stem 34. Access to the chamber 43 is gained through an opening 45 formed in the top wall 42. About the opening 45 extends a threaded neck portion which receives a threaded cap or cover 47. The side walls 48 of the cap 47 is provided with a plurality of openings 50 that permits water to flow into the chamber 43 when the cap 47 has been rotated from its sealed position as shown by FIGURE 2 to expose the openings 50 as shown by FIGURE 3 with the flush valve 11 submerged below 3 the level of the water in the tank '12. Also, the cap 47 can be completely removed from the threaded neck portion 46 and water poured into the latter to fill the chamber 43 to any desired depth.

The purpose of providing a hollow flush valve 11 is to permit weighting it by filling the chamber 43 of the valve 11 with a desired amount of water. When the flush valve 11 is to weighted as to be slightly lighter equal to or slightly heavier than the water it displaces then when the flush valve 11 has become unseated and water is permitted to be discharged through the outlet 15 to flush a toilet, at a certain level of water still remaining in the tank 11, the flush valve 11 will be drawn downwardly by the current created by the discharge of water and become seated on the valve seat '16 to stop the further flushing of the toilet. Consequently there is a saving of water with each flushing of the toilet. If too much of the water in the tank 12 is flushed at each operation of the operating handle, then more water is required in the chamber 43 of the flush valve 11. By unscrewing the cap 47 when the flush valve is seated on the valve seat 16 with the tank 12 filled with water, water will enter the openings 50 and flow into the chamber 43 of the flush valve 11.

By experimentation, a person can ascertain the amount of water that must be contained in the chamber 43 of the fiush valve 11 in order that the valve 11 will seat itself at the moment a certain amount of the water in the tank 12 has been discharged. In the conventional water closets the flush valves are entirely buoyant so that upon actuation of the operator handle, the Hush valve floats to the surface of the water in the tank and remains there until all of the water in the tank has been discharged. If the flush valve 111 is now weighted by the addition of water therein so as to be slightly heavier than the water it displaces, then only a small amount of the tank full of water will be discharged. As soon as the operating handle is released, the heavier than water flush valve will slowly descend on the water until seated, the discharge of water from the tank commencing at the time the operating handle was actuated and ending when the flush valve settled on the valve seat. If it is decided that not enough water has been discharged into the toilet bowl, water is removed from the flush valve 11 to lighten it and be somewhat equal in weight to the water it displaces. Now the flush valve will become seated by the current of water created by the flow of water from the tank 11 into the outlet 15 to suction the flush valve downwardly to its seated position while water still remains in the tank 12. If still not enough water has been discharged by each manipulation of the operating handle, the flush valve can be further lightened by further removal of Water from the flush valve 11. Now the flush valve 11 will be slightly buoyant and will come to a closed position only when closer to the valve seat 16 than heretofore. In this instance a greater amount of water has been discharged than when the flush valve 11 was heavier. Also, in view of the fact that the valve 11 is heavy weighted, when it is in its closed position, it will seat on the valve seat 16 more firmly and thereby be more effective to present leakage of water than the conventional float type flush valve.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An adjustable flush tank valve for water closets comprising a hollow body member having a substantially cone shape, a substantially fiat bottom wall and an inclined top Wall, said inclined top wall having an opening perpendicular thereto, a threaded neck portion surrounding said opening and a closure cap threadedly mounted on said neck portion.

2. The structure as recited by claim 1 wherein said closure cap is provided with a plurality of openings along its sidewall whereby lupon unthreading said closure cap partially on said neck portion said openings communicate with hollow body member and permit the flow of liquid into said hollow body member whereby the weight of said flush tank valve may be adjusted.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,699,890 1/1929 Hill 4-57 1,753,997 4/1930 Opperman 4-57 1,946,266 2/1934 Becker 4-56 1,946,267 2/1934 Becker 4-56 2,168,742 8/1939 ONeill et al. 4-57 2,214,439 9/1940 Robertson 4-67 2,257,292 9/ 1941 Garmo 4-57 2,777,136 1/ 1957 Harkness 4-57 2,869,141 1/1959 Koch et a1. 4-67 3,368,224 2/ 1968 Ament 4-56 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

HENRY K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner. 

